


The Fountain of Fair Fortune?

by anne_ammons



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Harry Potter ABCs of Death: A Halloween Fest, Mansplaining, Why Did I Write This?, and hardheadedness, chivalry can be deadly, listen to women, they tend to know what they're talking about
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:20:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27257074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anne_ammons/pseuds/anne_ammons
Summary: “My dear, you clearly are mistaken. I am an adventurer who has just made a great discovery, and here you are, just a lowly maiden undoubtedly lost in the forest. How could you possibly know of such things?”Uh oh... those just might be fighting words.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 6
Collections: Harry Potter ABCs of Death: A Halloween Fest





	The Fountain of Fair Fortune?

**Author's Note:**

> Beta thanks to iforgottocall. 'Preciate you reading through this bit of absolute frivolity... or something like that.
> 
> My prompt was W - water.

The man had been traveling a very long time it seemed. He was both tired and thirsty, as he used his sword to clear the undergrowth that impeded his way. As the forest grew more dense, he took out his wand to check his position, casting a Point Me spell to ensure he was on the right path.

“I’m close,” he said to no one in particular. “It has to be around here somewhere.”

For all the man’s efforts, his intended target was neither close nor was he timely, but that mattered not. Instead, an adventure of another sort waited ahead. 

He stopped to listen for the tell-tale sound of water that would indicate that his quarry was near. Convincing himself that he had indeed heard a noise, he moved off in what he believed to be the right direction. 

The sound continued to get louder and he knew he was closing in on his goal.

With a final slice, he stepped through the troublesome foliage that impeded his way to find a fountain in a small clearing.

He called out to stake his claim, although he appeared to be the only one in the clearing. Better to be safe than sorry.

“At last, I have discovered the Fountain of Fair Fortune! And having arrived on the Longest Day of the year, I need only partake of its waters and I will enjoy fair fortune forevermore!”

The adventurer lay down his belongings beside the fountain, dipped his hands into the water and drank deeply. His first sip was as refreshing as he expected. 

He instantly felt restored, but then heard a noise and looked around. He had been so careful to cover his tracks, so that other adventurers could not ambush him and cheat him of his find. 

“Oi!”

He looked up to find a fair maiden sitting at the edge of the fountain.

“What are you doing?”

The man straightened up. It was just his luck to come across a damsel in need of aid at the very same time he had had the opportunity to drink from the fountain. He paused, wondering if perhaps she was part of the fortune he was now promised.

He was open to rescuing said fair maiden, particularly given it would bring greater renown to his successful quest.

“Prithee, dear maiden, it is I, Sir Hengist Rawkes, at your service. Are you in need of assistance?”

The lovely maiden looked perplexed. She tilted her head as if she hadn’t understood his words. He took another breath to begin again when she fell forward into the fountain and he startled, concerned for her safety and well-being.

He could rescue her. She would be ever so appreciative of his rescue, but before he could start towards the other side of the fountain, she appeared in front of him.

“What are you doing?”

He paused, unsure whether to pull her out with his hands or use magic. 

“I can’t imagine that you didn’t hear me a second time. I said, what are you doing?” She repeated, with a frown on her lovely face.

He reached down and grabbed an arm, trying to pull her from the water. 

“You seem to have fallen into the Fountain of Fair Fortune,” he said with some strain, “but never fear, I shall rescue you.”

He grasped her around the middle and tugged but couldn’t seem to lift her from the water. Clearly, she was heavier than she looked, or perhaps he had overexerted himself during the search.

“Put me down!”

He was so startled at the tone of her voice, he immediately let go and fell backwards onto the ground, and the maiden slipped under the water with a splash.

 _How very unappreciative_ , he thought. He was not used to his help not being accepted.

He watched curiously as the woman in the fountain lifted her head out of the water and rested her arms on the fountain’s edge.

If he didn’t know better, he would say she appeared to be vexed, but that was probably due to her being wet, rather than anything he had done. Of course, his actions had been above reproach. In fact, it was _she_ who should be thanking _him_ for his efforts.

“This isn’t the Fountain of Fair Fortune.”

He frowned, “Of course it is. “

“Nope. It’s not.”

He sighed, knowing the fairer sex was far less well-informed than he, an intrepid explorer. 

“My dear, you clearly are mistaken. I am an adventurer who has just made a great discovery, and here you are, just a lowly maiden undoubtedly lost in the forest. How could you possibly know of such things?”

“A what? You think I’m a what?”

“A lovely maiden fallen prey to some ordeal, a damsel in obvious distress—”

The young maiden rolled her eyes, “And clearly, you didn’t discover the fountain.”

“Of course, I did. Do you see anyone else here?”

She didn’t respond, and only gave him a pointed look. If he had been different, he might have recognized what she was implying, but he wasn’t, so he didn’t.

She shook her head sadly.

“Your continued distress troubles me, lovely maid. How might I be of service? Are you sure you want to remain in the water? I’m sure it’s refreshing, but you wouldn’t want to catch a chill, with your delicate constitution and all.”

He was a gentleman; he knew the way of such things. Women were like delicate flowers -- it was best to admire them from a distance lest their blooms wither before their time. 

“Why would I want to get out of the water? It’s my home.”

Her answer mystified him. He had seen and heard a great many things during his adventures, but this was new.

“Your home?” he puzzled.

She answered him with a matter of fact tone to her voice. “Well, as this is a fountain, and I am a naiad.”

His brow was still furrowed, unable to make sense of what she was saying.

“You know, a spirit of the water? We live in bodies of water, like creeks, streams, and fountains.”

He laughed and clapped his hands.

“What a fantastic tale! Such a gift of storytelling you have. No such thing exists.”

The naiad rolled her eyes. “Of course, because _you’ve_ never heard of me, I don’t exist. How about Nimue? Heard of her?”

He nodded. What wizard beyond his tender years hadn’t heard of Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, the fairest of them all. Who hadn’t had thoughts of her while battling the one-eyed monster.

She must have seen the recognition in his eyes and nodded. “So, kind of like that.”

He frowned, trying to make sense of what exactly she was telling him. He decided he needed another drink of the refreshing water and moved towards the edge of the fountain, ignoring the narrowed eyes of the woman who claimed to be like Nimue. He could admit that she was lovely, but clearly, she was misinformed.

“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you,” she said in a scolding voice.

“Then it’s a good thing, you’re not me.” 

He dipped his hands into the fountain and cupped as much water as he could, bringing it to his mouth.

She sighed and shook her head. 

“The first sip, I could have overlooked, given you weren’t aware of my presence, but the second? You had a warning. That one is on you.”

He dismissed her words and drank a third time.

“Oh well, it’s your life,” she shrugged rather unsentimentally. “In any event, as I said earlier, this isn’t the Fountain of Fair Fortune. My sister lives in that one; it’s about half a day away. That way.” She pointed her finger back through the thicket in the direction he’d come.

He paled. There were others on the quest, others who might reach it before he did and try to take credit for what should be his find. But, there was still a chance. He would backtrack and redouble his efforts.

“Well then, I must be off.”

The naiad shook her head slowly. “Nah, that’s not how this works.”

“What pray tell do you mean?”

“This fountain is the Fountain of Misery and Misfortune. It says so on the sign. ‘Do not drink. Trespass at your own risk.’ It’s a liability thing, you know.” 

She pointed her finger towards the edge of the clearing where he could just make out a wooden sign that was lying on the ground, its support post having been sliced in two by an overzealous swing of his sword.

“Oh…” he remarked.

“And by my estimates-“ she tilted her head, “-given you had three sips of the water, you only have a few more minutes. Ten at most.”

“But surely, you are mistaken. Surely, there is some way to turn the tide against-“ 

She shook her head. “My hands are tied. Willful ignorance isn’t a forgivable offense. If I had a gold piece for every time I had to listen to everyone explain away how they didn’t know what they were doing, when I did my best to warn them…” Her voice trailed away. 

“I’m sorry?” she offered.

He sat back down, wondering if he looked as pitiful as he felt. “So am I, so am I.”

She pouted, “Well, if I’m to be honest with you, I’m not really sorry. I mean, if you look at the facts, you made your choice. You are the one who decided not to listen, but as a naiad, we tend to be socialized to give such meaningless platitudes in order to help men like you feel better about their misdeeds. But, to be honest, I’m not really feeling it today.”

His eyes had begun to glaze over, whether from the effects of the water or her confusing words, he wasn’t sure.

His adventuring days were coming to an end far sooner than he expected, and instead of his exit being at the hand of something exciting like a chimera or a basilisk, it was instead due to his own arrogance and stupidity. Even he could see that now. If only he had retraced his steps. If only… 

“Alas… is there nothing to be done?”

The naiad looked thoughtful for a moment, “Well, your death is imminent. There’s nothing to be done for that, but there might be one possibility.”

“A chance? I’ll give you anything I have.”

She chuckled. “Let’s be clear, you have nothing that I want, but out of kindness, I’ll help you out.”

* * *

  
  


“And that, dear lass, is how I came to be on these walls, preserved for all eternity.”

The girl with the bushy, brown hair looked unimpressed. “As a cautionary tale.”

If stitching could frown clearly, he would have done so. The portraits had it better; at least most of them had all their features, but he was limited to the stitches that he had, and time had not been so kind. Depending on the tapestry, there were frayed and faded threads that limited him. Still, he had not passed completely from this realm.

Centuries on from his last adventure and he was still here, preserved in a sense, when the others of his time had fully faded into obscurity.

“Well, it says right here in Hogwarts, A History, that you hang in the school as a cautionary tale for wizards who always think that they know better. A guide against man-splaining, really.”

“Against what? Let me see that.”

The young witch rolled her eyes and held the book open towards the tapestry for a moment, not that he could read it anyways, given his eyes were but bits of thread. There were some things even magic couldn’t replicate. 

She closed the book.

All things considered, it wasn’t a bad existence. He was able to race Sir Cadogan through the tapestries from time to time when he could locate a suitable mount. The unicorn in the Slytherin Common Room was never fit enough to ride, given the blood loss and all. 

He wondered how things might have been different had he actually found the Fountain of Fair Fortune, had he stopped to listen before quenching his thirst, had he not assumed he knew better than the naiad who had tried to warn him away. His path may have been rather different, but who knows, perhaps he had the better part of it anyways, seeing generations upon generations of children grow into proper young witches and wizards.

The girl hopped down from the alcove where he had found her with her nose in her book. 

“It was nice to meet you, Sir Hengist.” 

“And you as well, dear girl.” 

It had been quite pleasant to have a chat for a change, rather than have to shield his eyes from older students who tended to use these covered alcoves for other, less savory, activities. One had to be careful which side of the tapestry one faced, lest one get more of an eyeful than desired.

The young student put a hand on the tapestry and pulled it back, quickly ducking underneath it. 

He braced himself against the opposite edge so the sudden ripples couldn't knock him over and called out before she was out of earshot. “Come visit again, young miss. I have plenty more cautionary tales to share.”

He heard her laugh in the distance before the corridor fell silent again, and he wondered how long it would be before his next visitor wandered along. 

  
  



End file.
